Malvin Russell Goode was the first African American news correspondent for a major television network. Goode was born on February 13, 1908, in White Plains, Virginia, but his family moved to Homestead, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh, when he was very young. Goode, the third of four … Read MoreMalvin Russell Goode (1908–1995)
“Image Ownership: Fair Use” George Edward Curry was an American journalist who was considered by many of his colleagues the “dean of black press columnists” because of the number of his weekly commentaries which enjoyed wide syndication. Curry was born on February 23, 1947, in … Read MoreGeorge Edward Curry (1947–2016)
“Image Ownership: Chris93” Born in Paris, France in April 1978, from Senegalese parents, Rokhaya Diallo most famous as a French feminist and antiracist activist. She is also a journalist for radio and TV. First educated in the public schools of Paris, she moved at 11 with … Read MoreRokhaya Diallo (1978- )
Newspaper columnist and poet Ora Mae Lewis was born March 29, 1918, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Her father, Nathan Leopold Lewis, was a native of Jamaica and a decorated soldier in the British Colonial Army, and her mother Cecelia Della Atkinson, a New Orleans Creole, … Read MoreOra Mae Lewis Martin (1918–2005)
Prominent Virginia journalist Ray Boone Sr. was born February 2, 1938, in Suffolk, Virginia. His parents, foreign-born Japanese father, Tsujiro Miyanski, and mother, Leathia M. Boone, of mixed African and Native American descent, were banned from marrying in Virginia because of their different races. Yet … Read MoreRaymond Harold/ “Ray” Boone Sr. (1938-2014)
Frankie Annette Reed is a career Foreign Service officer who has held a variety of diplomatic postings in Europe, Africa, and Pacific Island nations. Between 2011 and 2013, she served as concurrent Ambassador to the Republic of the Fiji Islands, the Republic of Nauru, the … Read MoreFrankie A. Reed (1954- )
Wanda Evans Coleman was an American poet and writer who won critical acclaim for her avant-garde work, but remained relatively unknown to a broader audience. Her 30 year literary career included a myriad of poetry and fiction publications. Born and raised in the Watts section … Read MoreWanda Evans Coleman (1946-2013)
James Albert “Billboard” Jackson was a critic, reporter, editor, spokesman, actor, and booster of black entertainment. Jackson, the eldest of 14 children of Abraham V. Jackson and Nancy Lee Jackson, was born on June 20, 1878 in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. He attended public schools in Bellefonte, … Read MoreJames Albert “Billboard” Jackson (1878-1960)
Lasker Bell Sr. was the founder and host of the Las Bell Variety Show a radio program on the air from 1967 to 1985. Bell was also one of the most prominent black television personalities in the Arkansas-Louisiana-Mississippi region. Bell held public affairs appointments under … Read MoreLasker Bell (Las), Sr. (1928- )
Pnina Tamano-Shata, a lawyer and journalist, is the first woman of sub-Saharan African ancestry elected to the Knesset or Israeli National Parliament. Tamano-Shata was born in the Gondar region of Ethiopia to a Beta Israel (Jewish) family, the granddaughter of Kais Shato-Maharata, one of the … Read MorePnina Tamano-Shata (1981- )
